Massachusetts digital health company Epicore Biosystems unveiled a connected hydration sweat patch and mobile app at this month’s CES in Las Vegas.

The company is developing sweat-sensing wearables to provide real-time personalised hydration insights for performance and safety.

Said to be the first wearable to measure sweat fluid and electrolyte losses continuously while monitoring skin temperature and movement, the patch is designed for industrial athletes working on the frontlines of labour-intensive industries such as energy, clean tech, construction, mining, utilities, agriculture, trucking and warehouse packaging. Through real-time alarms and vibrations onboard the device, it alerts wearers when their fluid loss exceeds two per cent of body weight to prevent dehydration.

Epicore says it is introducing this at a critical time as climate change worsens, temperatures rise and industrial working conditions intensify. The harmful effects of high temperatures diminish physical and cognitive performance, leading to 170,000 work-related injuries and 2000 fatalities annually in the USA.

The increasing temperatures also reduce productivity, with total global labour productivity expected to decrease by more than 18% if temperatures rise by one to three degrees Celsius. Excessive environmental heat also takes a financial toll, costing employers upwards of $79,000 in worker compensation per affected worker.

“Amid the rise in global heat injuries, Connected Hydration empowers industrial athletes with key sweat and body temperature biometrics to help prevent dehydration and protect their overall health and well-being,” said Roozbeh Ghaffari, CEO of Epicore Biosystems. “The debut of this at CES underscores Epicore Biosystems’ ongoing commitment to shaping the future of non-invasive wearables and equipping industrial workers with the necessary resources to adapt in a warming world.”

Connected Hydration consists of a flexible wearable patch, a mobile app and a cloud engine. Battery life extends over 1000 hours and never requires charging; the company has a coin-cell battery swap service, creating an eco-friendly and seamless user experience.

Features include multiple biosensors for real-time sweat and electrolyte loss, skin temperature, thermal flux, and motion tracking. There are real-time dehydration alerts and alarms via vibration cues. Real-time hydration feedback and fluid and electrolyte intake tracking are done via the mobile app. The data dashboard tracks daily and longitudinal changes across all biometrics. A cloud engine provides predictive analytics for dehydration events. There are customisable colour swatches for the electronics module and skin adhesive.

Epicore Biosystems showcased Connected Hydration with its existing suite of wearable products at CES with 3M, a manufacturer and distributor of medical products.

Epicore will launch the patented Connected Hydration patch, mobile app and cloud engine in summer 2023. The company already has enterprise partners deploying Connected Hydration, including Chevron, Denka and the US Army.

Founded in 2017, Epicore Biosystems is a digital health company developing sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalised health insights for hydration, stress and wellness. Its clinically validated products are deployed globally. The company was co-founded by scientists from Northwestern University’s Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics.